Ironing machine



March 23 1926.

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T. W. BEHAN IRONING MACHINE Filed March 26, 1921 5 SheetsSheet 2 Smemtoz av W. $.4

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T. W. BEHAN IRONING MACHINE Filed March 26, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m Denim,

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March 23 1926. 1,578,001

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-- w VIII/177717710YIIII/IYIIiI/l/I/I/IAwill/111111allllllllllll/x/liiil avwemtoz Patented Mar. 23, 1926 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS W. BEHAN, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE NINETEEN HTIN- DR ED WASH ER COMPANY, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

IRONING MACHINE.

Application filed March 26, 1921. Serial No. 455,708.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. BEHAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Binghamtonfin the county of Broome, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ironing Machines, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to power driven ironing machines or mangles, and has for its object the provision'of such a machine which shall be rigid and durable in construction and simple, convenient and eflicient in operation.

One of the more specific objects of my invention is to provide convenient foot controlled means always at the command of the operator for efiecting the relative movement of the two ironing elements that is required to place them in ironing position.

Another object is to combine with the foot controlled means above referred to, a footcontrolled tripping device for releasing the ironing elements from their ironing position.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of means whereby when it is deing pressure sired to clean, polish or repair one or both of the ironing elements, they may readily be separated to a much greater extentthan is necessary or desirable in the normal operation of the machine.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of supporting and actuating means for one of the ironing elements, as for example, the movable shoe, so arranged that when moved toward or into contact with the roll, it partakes of a bodily, substantially translational movement as distinguished from the purely pivotal movement which heretofore has been employed customarily in this connection. It is my object, also, to so arrange these. supporting and actuating means that when the shoe is in th ironing position the pressure exerted uponthe clothes between it and the rotor will gradually increase from the top to the bottom of its ironing surface so that the ironmay be applied gradually during the ironing operation in much the same manner in which it is customarily applied in manual ironing.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an eflicient power transmitting mechanism for actuating 'the ironing roll,

and a reliable safety device for protecting the electrlc motor or other source of power from excessive power demands.

\Vith these and other ends in view, as I will appear more fully hereinafter, my invention includes the novel machine, elements and combinations of elements described herein and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

I In the accompanying drawings, which are merely for the purpose of illustrating one embodiment of my invention and are not intended as a limitation upon the scope thereof,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the ironing machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof with the iron ng elements in ironing position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the machine taken on the line Hl lll of Fig. 1, and showing the ironing elements in their normally released positions;

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary view showing the operation of the tripping device;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view of the machine similar to Fig. 3, but showing the position of the parts as the shoe is about to be moved into its wide open or cleaning position;

Fig. '6 is a similar view showing the shoe in its wide open position; i

7, is a transverse sectional view'of a portion of the machine taken'on the line VHVH of Fig. 2 and showing the power transmitting mechanism; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line VIII-VH1 of Fig. 7.

T he frame of my ironing machine may be of any desired form, but as herein shown it comprises the side members 10 held together by suitable cross members 11, 12. These cross members may be made up of interior tie bolts and outer casings, as indicated in the drawings.

Mounted in suitable bearings in the frame is the shaft 13 for the rotor or ironing roll 14. Suitable mechanism which I shall de s'a-ibe later is provided for driving the rotor 14. The rotor or roll 14 may be of any dethe rotor 14. This shoe preferably comprises a main member 17 of ca t iron or similar material, and provided with the polished ironing surface 17 The rear wall 18 of this shoe is preferably formed of sheet metal and provided with a lining of asbestos or other heat insulating material so that no heat may be wasted. This rear wall 18 is preferably removable, the securing means here shown being in the form of alternately disposed lugs 19 arranged at the upper and lower rear edges of the main member 17 of the shoe. Heat is applied internally of the shoe by means of a series of jets 20 to which gas is supplied through the pipe 21 controlled by a suitable cock 22. Of course, instead of using gas as a heating medium, electricity or any other suitable medium may be employed.

The shoe 16 is preferably so mounted on the frame of the machine that its movements toward and from the rotor 14 are substantially movements of translation and not pivotal movements. The supporting means which I employ for effecting this result are alike at both sides of the machine and, ac cordingly, in the interest of brevity, I shall describe in detail but one set of these means.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the shoe 16 is supported at each side of the machine by a pair of substantially parallel links or their equivalents 23 and 24. These links are pivotally mounted upon the frame at the points 25, 26, respectively, and are pivotally connected to the shoe at the points 27, 28, respectively. The pivotal point of connection 27 between the shoe and the link 23 is preferably adjacent the lower portion of the shoe, and the pivotal point of connection 28 between the shoe and the link 24 is located at an upper portion of the shoe.

Secured to the lower end of the link 23 and forming therewith a bell crank lever, is the crank 29 to which is yieldably connected by means of the hanger 30 and spring 31, the pull rod 32, the lower end of which is connected at the point 33 to the downwardly extending arm 33 of the lever 33'. This lever 33 may be depressed by the treadle 34 in a manner which will be more fully described later, and elevated by spring means, such as indicated at 35.

It is apparent from the structure above described that upon the depression of the treadle 34 the bell crank lever 23, 29,-will be given a counter-clockwise movement which will result in moving the shoe 16 bodily or by an approximately translational motion toward the rotor into the position shown in Fig. 2. This described motion of the'shoe 16 results from the action of the substantially parallel links 23, 24, moving about their pivots 25, 26. These links are preferably so arranged, however, that the pressure between the shoe and roll, when the shoe is in the position of Fig. 2, gradually increases from a minimum at the top of the arc of contact, or at the clothes inlet,

to a maximum at the bottom of this are, or at the clothes outlet. As a result, the clothes are first smoothed out and partially dried under relatively light pressure, and then finished under full pressure in much the same way thatthey are operated upon by a skilled laundress ironing manually. When the lever 33 is elevated b the spring means 35 the shoe will return y a motion of translation into its original position shown in Fig. 3.

The above described motion of the shoe 16 toward and from the rotor 14 is themotion employed in the normal operation of ironing. That is, the shoe may be opened into the position shown in Fig. 3 to permit of the placing of thick clothing to be ironed between the rotor and shoe, or to permit such clothing to be withdrawn during the ironing operating when desired for any reason. However, during the actual ironing operation the shoe is substantially -in the position shown in Fig. 2, or as near thereto as the thickness of the clothes being ironed will permit. The shelf 36 is provided as a feed board to assist the operator in feeding the clothing to the ironing elements, and the tray 37 below the ironing elements is adapted to receive the clothes after they have been passed between the rotor and shoe. If desired, a rod 38 in the nature of a clothes horse may be employed for holding the clothes after they have been ironed.

In the use ofan ironing machine of the type here under consideration, it sometimes becomes necessary to clean or polish the ironing surface 17 of the shoe. It is practically impossible to do this satisfactorily unless the shoe is removed from the rotor a greater distance than is shown in Fig. 3. For that reason I have provided the following mechanism for placing the shoe 16 into a wide open or'clcaning position. The link 24 is provided with a slot 39 having an offset portion 40, which oifset portion 00- operates with the pivot 26 to form the pivotal connection with the frame, about which pivotal connection the link 24 normally oscillates, as above described. Connected to the link 24 at a point intermediate its length is a rod 40*. The two rods 40 which are connected, respectively, to the two links 24 on opposite sides of the machine, are each connected to one end of the bail 41, which as shown in Fig. 1 extends across the front of the machine, being pivotally supported from the feed board 36. A suitable hand lever of any desired type, such as indicated at 42, is provided intermediate the ends of the bail 41 to facilitate the operatorsvmoving the bail pivotally, as hereinafter described.

\Vhen it is desired to let the shoe back ini to its wide open or cleaning position shown in Fig. 6, the pressure between the offset and the pivot 26 may be relieved by manually moving the upper portion of the shoe forwardly or to the left as viewed in Fig. 5. The hand lever 42 is then elevated, pulling the rods 40 forward and rotating the links 24 in a clockwise direction about the pivot 28 as a center. Thus the links 24 are moved into a position substantially as shown in Fig. 5, which permits the shoe to fall into the position shown in Fig. 6. Preferably the movement of the shoe from the position of Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 6

is controlled by the operator manually sup porting the shoe in its descent.

To return the shoe fromthe position of Fig. 6 to that of Fig. 3 it is necessary merely to raise the upper portion of the shoe manually into the position shown in Fig. 5, or just beyond that position, when the link 24 will fall back by gravity into the position occupied by it in Fig. 3, the ofiiset 40 taking over the pivot 26 when the shoe is released by the operator.

It will appear from the above description that the normal movement toward and from the rotor is a motion of translation as distinguished from the pivotal movement which is customarily given to the shoe in ironing machines with which I am familiar. As a result of this translational movement the shoe comes in contact with the rotor substantially simultaneously at all points in the arc of contact, but as above noted, exerts a pressure which increases gradually from the top to the bottom of the arc of contact. The movement of the shoe into the wide open or cleaning position from the normal open position of Fig. 3 is, on the other hand, a purely pivotal movement, the shoe moving about 'the point of connection 27 between the shoe and the link 23. This pivotal movement is, of course, entirely additional to the translational movement above described.

Referring now to the lever 33-and treadle 34, it is noted'that, as in the case of the mechanism above described, there is a lever 33 at each side of the machine, these levers being pivoted to the frame of the machine at 43. The treadle 34 is preferably in the form of a bail pivotally suspended from the two levers 33 at 44. Also pivoted to each lever at 44, or at a point adjacent thereto, is a dog 45 which, when the treadle 34 is depressed sufiiciently, will take over the lug 46 formed upon the frame of the machine, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, there being, of course, a. lug 46 at each side of the machine to correspond to the two dogs 45.

The depression of the treadle 34 and levers 33 to effect the above result is accomplished by a downward pressure upon the treadle 34. When it is desired to disengage the dogs 45 from the lugs 46, this may be done by the use of the same treadle 34, it being necessary for the operator merely to move the treadle or bail 34 rearwardly or in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 44. When this movement takes place the pins 47, one of which projects from each side of the bail 34, contact with the dogs 45, giving thema counter-clockwise movement about their pivot 44, and release them from their corresponding lugs 46, as indicated in Fig. 4. The springs 35 will then elevate the levers 3i permitting the shoe 16 to drop back into the position shown in Fig. 3.

The above described mechanism for lock- .ing and releasing the shoe controlling dcvices is of the utmost importance, both from a standpoint of convenience and a standpoint of safety. It is apparent that since the position of the operator at the front of machine is not definitely fixed it is of the utmost convenience to have the treadle 34 extend substantially across the entire machine so that when the operator desires to move the shoe into the ironing position of Fig. 2 while guiding the clothes to be ironed, by both hands, she may merely move her foot forward until it contacts with the treadle and then depress it without changing her position in the least and without interfering with her manual guiding or adjusting of the clothes. But even more important is the construction and arrangement of the tripping mechanism. Of course, it is necessary in the normal ironing operations to operate the tripping mechanism for releasing the shoe from the roll and it is desirable that the means for doing this be as simple and convenient as possible for the same reasons which I have referred to above in connection with the moving of the shoe into the ironing position. As will be apparent, the tripping or releasing of the shoe in my improved machine may be done with the utmost ease irrespective of the particular position in front of the machine that the operator is occupying, by merely kicking rearwardly the bail or treadle 34. But not only is the tripping device operated during the normal ironing operations, but it is operated also in case of any accident or danger to the operator as may be caused, for example, by the operators fingers being caught between the rotor and the shoe.

NVhen this occurs it is essential that. the operator may have a means of the utmost simplicity and celerity of operation for releasing the shoe. Many of the ironing machines with which I am familiar require an operation by the hand of the operator for eiiect- This, of course, would be ing this result. totally useless in case the operator got both of her hands caught between the shoe and rotor, or in case one of them were caught as to hold her in sucha position that she.

could not reach the manually operated de vice with the other hand. In the use of my improved machine, on the other hand, no matter what happens to the hands of the operator and no matter in what position in front of the machine the operator may stand at the time an accident occurs, the shoe may immediately be released from the rotor by merely kicking the bail 34 rearwardly.

One of the problems presented in the construction of an ironing machine of this type is to provide a treadle mechanism which will allow for a sutlicient amount of relative movement between the ironing members and at the same time enable the operator to exeit, through the treadle, a sufficient pressure between the ironing elements, without unduly extending the are of movement of the treadle. I have solved this problem by constructing the lever 33, as shown, with the downwardly extending arm 33 to which the lower end of the pull rod 32 is connected ,at-

33". Referring to Figs. 3 and 2, respectively, it is apparent that during the initial part of the downward movement of the treadle, the part during which the resistance to movement is ata minimum, the ratio of movement between the rod 32 and the treadle 34 is relatively large, as compared with the similar ratio existing at the end of the downward movement of the treadle, at which time the movement of the rod is iesisted by the spring 31 which, in turn, exerts pressure between the ironing elements. A comparison of the length of a line drawn from the pivot point 43 to the rod 32 in a direction perpendicular to the rod as it is shown in Fig. 3, with the length of a similar line between the pivot point 43 and the rod 32 as shown in Fig. 2, gives a correct comparison between these two ratios, and consequently an inverse comparison between the effective leverages existing at the beginning and at the end of the downward movement of the treadle. If the lower leverage existing at the beginning of the treadle movement were maintained throughout, an excessive pressure upon the treadle would be required to effect the desired pressure between the ironing elements. If, on the other hand, the higher leverage existing at the end of the treadle movement were maintained from be ginning to end, too great an arc of movement of the treadle would be required in order to permit the desired amount of relative movement between the ironing elements. By'my improved construction, however, the leverage varies directly with the load, so that all of the requirements are satisfied.

In the above description of the means for bringing the two ironing elements into contact and releasing them from contact, I have described an embodiment of my invention in which the shoe is moved toward and from the rotor. It is to be understood, however,

that my invention in this respect, as in many others, is equally applicable to an ironing machine in which the shoe is stationary and the rotor is moved toward and from it.

1 come now tothe driving means for the rotor 14. Referring to Fig. 7, upon one end of the rotor shaft 13 is loosely mounted the gear 49 engaged by the pinion 50 which is driven by the worm wheel 51 meshing with the worm 52 (Fig. 8). Also mounted on the rotor shaft 13 is the clutch member 53 splined thereto but adapted for longitudinal movement thereon. This clutch member is provided with pins 54 which are adapted to take into the recesses 55 formed in the other clutch member 56'wl1ich is secured to the gear 49.

The shaft 57 of which the worm 52 forms a part is preferably arranged in alignment with the drive shaft 58 of the electric motor 59 or other Keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 58 is a series of disks 60 of fiber or suitable metal, which disks are respectively interposed between the somewhat similar disks 61 which are preferably secured to the shaft 57 in some such manner as by the rods 62 which pass through the collar 63 secured to the end of the shaft 57. These rods are preferably provided with springs 64 and flanges 65 suitable source of power.v

which have the effect of exerting lateral.

pressure between the disks of the two series above described.

The operation of this power transmitting mechanism is as follows: The drive shaft 58 through the disk connection above described normally drives the shaft 57 and worm 52 positively, thereby transmitting rotary movement to the gear 49 through the worm wheel 51 and pinion 50. When the clutch member 53 is in the position shown in Fig. 7 in engagement with the clutch member 56, the rotary movement of the gear 49 is thereby transmitted to the rotor shaft 13 and thus to the rotor. lVhen, however, the clutch member 53 is moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 7, so that it becomes disengaged from the clutch member 56, the gear 49 rotates idly and the rotor 14 remains stationary.

The particular function of the disks 61, 62, is as a guard or protection for the motor or other power source from excessive loads. By proper adjustment of the springs 64 the disk connection described will transmit positively a torque up to a. predetermined amount, which amount is, of course, dependent upon the capacity of the prime mover. \Vhen, however, this torque is exceeded, as, for example, when clothing of excessive thickness has been inserted between the rotor and shoe and become clogged, the disks will slip upon each other, thereby relieving the motor or other power source from the excessive load which would otherwise be placed The means for operating the clutch 53 found it desirable to connectup these means with the means for moving the shoe into and out of engagement with the rotor, since ordinarily it is desired that the rotor be driven only-when the shoe is in ironing position. Accordingly (Figsw2 and 7), I have provided the clutch member 53 with a slotted collar 66 adapted to receive the pins 67 of the yoke 68 which is mounted upon the spindle 69. At the forward end of the spindle 69 (Fig. 1) I provide a crank 70 to which is resiliently connected, as indicated in the drawing, the draw rod 71 which in turn is connected to and operated by the crank 29 which forms a part of the shoe supporting and operating link or bell crank lever 23, 29. From the construction above described it is apparent that when the treadle 34 is de pressed to move the bell crank lever 23, 29, in counter-clockwise direction and thus move the shoe 16 toward the rotor, the rod 71, crank 70, spindle 69 and yoke 68 will thereby be operated to move the clutch member 53 into engagement with the clutch member 56 to drive the rotor. When, on the other hand, the treadle 34 and lever 33 are elevated into the position shown in Fig. 3, the clutch operating mechanism will be moved in the reverse direction, with the result that the rotor driving clutch is disengaged or rendered ineffective.

As a means for lubricating the worm drive 51, 52, I preferably provide an oil bath 7 2 and an oil splashing disk 73 which is effective to splash oil from the bath on to the worm wheel 51. In order to prevent oil passing into the motor by means of the drive shaft 58, I have provided the guard 74 which is shown (Figs. 7 and 8) as of such conformation that any oil splashing from the disks 60, 61, will strike it and be directed thereby back way from the motor and toward the worm 52.

In view of the fact that I have described fully in the course of my specification the method of operation of the several parts or features of my present invention, I do not consider it necessary to make any further description of the modus operandi of my invention at this point.

The terms and expressions which I have .employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalent of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In an ironing machine, a frame, a rotor, a shoe, means for imparting to the shoe 8. translational movement toward and away from the rotor, said means including at each end of the shoe a pair of substantially parallel links pivotally connected to the frame and to the shoe, and means under the control of the operator for disengaging the pivotal connection between one of said links and the frame, thereby permitting pivotal movement of the shoe away from the rotor about the pivotal connection between the shoe and the other of said links.

2. In an ironing machine, a frame, a rotor, a shoe, means for imparting to the shoe a translational movement toward and away from the rotor, said means including at each end of the shoe a pair of substantially parallel links, one of which links is provided with a longitudinal slot having an offset portion which normally cooperates with a pivot on the frame to form the pivotal connection between said link and the frame, and means under the control of the operator to so move said link as to dislodge the offset portion of its slot from said pivot, thereby permitting pivotal movement of the shoe away from the rotor, about the pivotal connection between the shoe and the other link, to the extent of the length of said slot.

3. In an ironing machine, a frame, a pair. of ironing elements, and means for moving one of said elements toward and from the other, said means including a foot treadle extending substantially across the machine,

and adapted when depressed to move said,

element toward the other, locking means arranged. between the treadle and frame automatically to lock the treadle in its depressed position, and means operable by the move-' ment of the treadle in a direction at an angle ion to the direction of its depressed movement for disengaging said locking means to release the treadle.

4. In an ironing machine, a frame, a pair of ironing elements, and means for moving."

one of said elements toward and from the other, said means including a lever pivoted at one end to the frame and adapted when depressed to move said last named element toward the other, a foot treadle pivotally connected to said lever at its other end, looking means adapted automatically to lock the 1%"01 in its depressed position, and means operatively connected with the treadle and adapted, when the treadle is moved about its pivotal connection with the lever, to disen gage said locking means and release the lever.

5. In an ironing machine, a frame, a pair of ironing elements, and means for moving one of said elements toward and from the other, said means including a lever pivoted at one end to the frame and adapted when depressed to move said last named element toward the other, a foot treadle pivotallfi connected to said lever at its other end, a dog pivoted to said lever adjacent the treadle and adapted, when the lever is depressed by means of the treadle, to take over a lug formed on the frame of the machine, automatically to lock the lever in its depressed position, and means operatively connected to the treadleand adapted, when the treadle is moved about its pivotal connection with the lever, to disengage the dog; from the lug and release the lever.

6. In an ironing machine, a frame, a pair of ironing elements, and means for moving one of said elements toward and from the other, said means including a pair of levers one adjacent each side of the machine, said levers being pivoted at one end to the frame and adapted, when depressed, to move said last named element toward the other, a bail pivotally connected to the other end of said levers, said bail extending substantially across the machine and being adapted to operate as a foot treadle for depressing said levers, a dog pivoted to one of said levers adjacent said bail and adapted, when the levers are depressed to take over a lug formed on the frame of the machine, lock the levers in their depressed positions, and means operable upon the movement of said bail about thepivotal connection with said levers to disengage the dog from thelug and release the levers.

THOMAS W. BEHAN.

automatically to 

